Hartford Town Forest
Nature preserve
363 acres11 mi of trail
West Side LoopMoose Brook TrailPine DropWB Brown Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hartford
Hartford has 57 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
647 acres are parks and preserves, 60 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hartford Town Forest (11 mi), Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge (3.4 mi), Green Mountain National Forest (2.4 mi). 7% of Hartford’s land is conserved, about 1,954 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #30 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,954 acres · of 45.1 sq mi of land
Trails
57 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
647 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Highest peak
1,302 ft
Neals Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hartford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hartford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hartford is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #30 of 71 in Vermont. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hartford’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (57 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4APark land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (647 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home51% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 59%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Hartford’s 7% is ahead of 17% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Hartford Town Forest, with 11 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
176 acres3.4 mi of trail
Beacon Hill LoopMonument TrailPond LoopWB Brown Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
257 acres2.4 mi of trail
Appalachian Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kilowatt Park North
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Kilowatt Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Hartford Town Forest363 acres · 11 mi of trail
DirectionsHurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge176 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
DirectionsGreen Mountain National Forest257 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Kilowatt Park11 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsKilowatt Park North7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGeorge Ratcliffe Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWatson Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Hartford
DirectionsFrost Park2 acres
DirectionsLyman Point Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,954 conserved acres
7% of Hartford’s land. Who manages Hartford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,088 ac
State parks581 ac
U.S. Forest Service257 ac
National Park Service251 ac
Town or city46 ac
Joint23 ac
Army Corps of Engineers11 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,147 acUnknown Easement · 544 acLocal Resource Management Area · 347 acNational Forest · 257 acNational Scenic or Historic Trail · 251 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,130 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 347 | Unknown |
| Green Mountain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 257 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 251 | Open |
| Quechee State Park State Park | Not recorded | 75 | Open |
| White River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 43 | Open |
| Maanawaka Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| North Hartland Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 11 | Open |
| Kilowatt Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Watson Upper Valley Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Ratcliff Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
35 places to go in Hartford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hartford
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Hartford
Adventure Playscape
DirectionsFrost Park Playground
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hartford
Watson Upper Valley Dog ParkIn Watson Park
DirectionsWatson Upper Valley Dog ParkIn Watson Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Hartford
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Hartford
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Hartford
Beacon Hill VistaIn Hartford Town Forest
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Hartford
Neals Hill1,302 ft elevation · In Hartford Town Forest
DirectionsSavage Hill1,273 ft elevation
DirectionsSprague Hill1,263 ft elevation
DirectionsGillette Hill1,234 ft elevation
DirectionsLoveland Hill1,227 ft elevation
DirectionsHurricane Hill1,201 ft elevation
DirectionsMiller Hill902 ft elevation
DirectionsSykes Mountain685 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hartford
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Hartford
3 community gardens without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.0 miHorses · 2.8 miUnpaved · 18.0 mi
Appalachian Trail2.8 mi
Quechee Gorge Trail1.4 mi
Beacon Hill Loop1.2 mi
Hazen Trail1.1 mi
Dog Loop Trail1.1 mi
West Side Loop1.0 mi
WB Brown Trail0.9 mi
Moose Brook Trail0.6 mi
Pine Drop0.6 mi
Ottauquechee Trail0.5 mi
15 more trails
Riverwalk Trail
0.5 miMonument Trail
0.5 miPond Loop
0.4 miKings Highway
0.4 miSpline Trail
0.4 miBackwater Trail
0.4 miCreek Trail
0.4 miTower Trail
0.4 miWright Farm Trail
0.3 miLingelbach Trail
0.3 miAscutney Trail
0.3 miSouth Side Trail
0.3 miFarrar Trail
0.2 miLaughlin Trail
0.2 miKilowatt Park Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
23Tennis
12Soccer
9Basketball
8Baseball
6Pickleball
2Softball
2Tracks
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →19 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Taftsville Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itJedediah II Strong HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itQuechee Gorge BridgeStructure · listed 1990
About itWest Hartford BridgeStructure · listed 1992
About itTheron Boyd HomesteadDistrict · listed 1993
About itHartford LibraryBuilding · listed 1994
About itProgressive MarketBuilding · listed 1995
About itQuechee Historic Mill DistrictDistrict · listed 1997
About itHartford Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998
About itJoseph and Daniel Marsh HouseBuilding · listed 1998
About itDewey HouseBuilding · listed 1999
About itWilder Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1999
About it7 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hartford: May and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Hartford →
Next door
Hartford and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lebanon106 miNorwich100 miHartford57 miWoodstock55 miPomfret38 miHartland7.6 miWilder5.3 miWhite River Junction1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | 7% | 1.3 | 60 | 51% | A− |
| Wilder | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| White River Junction | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pomfret | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Woodstock | 17% | 1.3 | 282 | 36% | A |
| Hartland | 15% | 0.2 | 97 | 9% | B |
| Norwich | 19% | 2.2 | 119 | 40% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hartford
Where can I hike in Hartford?
The longest trail networks: Hartford Town Forest, 11 miles; Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge, 3.4 miles; Green Mountain National Forest, 2.4 miles; Kilowatt Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hartford is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Vermont town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Hartford’s trails?
Hartford Town Forest and Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hartford?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hartford?
19,852 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hartford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,009 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hartford have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #30 of 71 in Vermont. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Hartford neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →